“It’s Not That I Don’t Love You, but When Does the Next Train Leave?”
I feel like I may have watched Please Don’t Eat the Daisies as a kid. I definitely know I’d heard the name before it became the inspiration for the next book in Diane Vallere’s Madison Night mystery series. Either way, I recently sat down to watch it, and I enjoyed it overall.
The movie tells the story of the Mackay family. Laurence (David Niven) is a newly minted full time theater critic in New York City, something he’s always aspired to. However, the new found power and respect begins to go to his head after he has to trash the new play by one of his best friends, Alfred North (Richard Haydn). Meanwhile, his wife Kate (Doris Day), is struggling to execute the family’s long planned move to the country. And their four boys are creating havoc wherever they go. Can they balance everything?
More importantly, can the movie balance everything? Honestly, we spend about half the movie before we head out to the country. I was enjoying the time in the city with the storyline about Laurence’s new career, especially the interactions with Deborah (Janis Paige), an actress he criticizes in a review. But then the action tries to split itself between the move to the country and the city. I think the movie would have been stronger if it had focused on one or the other storyline instead of trying to cram both into the same story. Either could have provided enough material for a full movie.
Having said that, I did have fun watching the events unfold. There are plenty of laughs at the banter between the characters. The slapstick we got at times was fun, although I’m not completely sure it belonged in this movie.
One thing I absolutely loved here is how much Laurence and Kate love each other. It is very plain that they are crazy about each other early on. Yes, they do fight over the course of the film, but it’s easy to see they will make up by the time it is over. Yes, it helps that this is a comedy. Having said that, the resolution seemed very abrupt with little truly resolved on screen. But I’ll take it.
The actors all do a great job here. I enjoyed watching them, and their chemistry was wonderful.
Because this is a Doris Day movie, we also get her singing three songs. I’m not sure they really add anything to the movie, but they are fun numbers, so I’m not complaining.
This is one of those movies where it is easy to see some flaws, but is still enjoyable overall. If you are looking for something light, you’ll enjoy Please Don’t Eat the Daises.
I feel like I had the Jean Kerr book at one point, which somehow made more sense to have half the book set in the city. Or maybe it was just so they could show David Niven in a tux more often!
ReplyDeleteThis isn't one of my favorite Doris Day movies but I did enjoy it. I do agree about the ending.
ReplyDelete